Sen. Richard Lugar, the third longest-serving member of the Senate, went down to a primary defeat tonight to his Tea Party-backed opponent in the Republican primary. State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, backed by tea partiers and conservative campaign groups outside the state, ousted Lugar in Indianas GOP primary, the Associated Press projected.

Mourdock will face Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly in November.

In Lugar, the Senate would lose one of its few remaining members with a habit of bipartisanship. In Mourdock, Lugar has been unseated by a mild-mannered, twice-elected statewide official who wants to eliminate five federal departments and cut more spending than House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would.

I hope that Richard Mourdock prevails in November so that he can contribute to that Republican majority in the Senate, Lugar said in his concession speech. We are experiencing deep political divisions in our society right now. And these divisions have stalemated progress in critical areas. These divisions have stalemated progress in critical areas. But these divisions are not insurmountable. I agree that people of good will, regardless of party, can work together for the benefit of country.

Mourdock began his acceptance speech by leading a round of applause for Lugar.

When I began this campaign, Sen. Lugar was not my enemy. He is not now my enemy; he will never be my enemy. He was, simply, over the last 15 months, my opponent, Mourdock said. Hoosiers want to see Republicans inside the U.S. Senate take a more conservative track.

President Obama lamented Lugars defeat in a statement released to press.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.

5
posted on 05/08/2012 7:52:49 PM PDT
by ElkGroveDan
(My tagline is in the shop.)

“After returns from the primary came in, Lugar conceded to Mourdock before a crowd of supporters. He says he wants to see a Republican in the White House and will support Mourdock in his race against Democrat Joe Donnelly for the Senate seat.”

I'm not picking on you personally but this is starting to mildly annoy me. Another Freeper and myself have posted multiple times on different Lugar related threads that INDIANA HAS A SORE LOSER LAW!

Dick Lugar is done! He can now spend more quality time with his Grandchildren. If he actually owned a home in Indiana, he could now sell his beltway digs and move back to the state he represented (poorly) for decades.

I'm not picking on you personally but this is starting to mildly annoy me. Another Freeper and myself have posted multiple times on different Lugar related threads that INDIANA HAS A SORE LOSER LAW!

Dick Lugar is done! He can now spend more quality time with his Grandchildren. If he actually owned a home in Indiana, he could now sell his beltway digs and move back to the state he represented (poorly) for decades.

..Lugar has been unseated by a mild-mannered, twice-elected statewide official who wants to eliminate five federal departments and cut more spending than House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would...

Bravo! 5 federal departments is a good start.

28
posted on 05/08/2012 8:16:03 PM PDT
by Oldeconomybuyer
(The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)

Did you click on the link and listen to the speeches ? Lugar was classy and threw his support to Mourdock , Mourdock said the GOP Senate guy , John Cornyn , called and he has their backing . It seems the GOP elite are paying attention , for the moment .

President Obama lamented Lugars defeat in a statement released to press. While Dick and I didnt always agree on everything, I found during my time in the Senate that he was often willing to reach across the aisle and get things done.

That’s not entirely true. Utah saw some good solid conservatives beat the insiders’ choices in congressional races, and forced Hatch into a primary to everyone’s surprise. I think we saw a couple surprises in other states too. West Virginia comes to mind, but I can’t remember the specifics. We also have seen guys like Mandel in Ohio move to the front of the pack in Senate primaries.

Not sure how many states have already voted in primaries (for example here in FL ours isn’t until August).

Shocked? You really shouldn’t be. This is the first real opportunity we’ve had to unseat this RINO rather than having the GOP decide for us and we took it.

Far from just bumbling along in a haze, we’ve managed to achieve quite a lot in this state over the past few years, the most recent being the passage of RTW legislation. Many people across the state and the nation worked really hard to make this happen. Maybe you could throw some kudos their way instead of snark.

39
posted on 05/08/2012 8:38:37 PM PDT
by nodumbblonde
("The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity." - Ayn Rand)

Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they’ll jerk from their beds and think they’re dreamin’
But they’ll pinch themselves and squeal
And they’ll know that it’s for real
The hour when the ship comes in
And they’ll raise up their hands
And say “we’ll meet all your demands”
But we’ll shout from the bow
“Your days are numbered!”
And like Pharaoh’s tribe
They’ll be drowned in the tide
And like Goliath
They’ll be conquered.

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